...It happened on the highway. The highway, where some of the most bizarre, inexplicable, and inconceivable occurrences happen. Occurrences, that couldn’t possibly happen in reality, occurrences, that only happen in fiction, occurrences, that only happen in the cinematic fantasyland of Hollywood. Then again, how do we determine what reality is, and what it isn’t? For all I know, it could have been nothing more than a hallucination, a mirage, or a horrible, awful, and insanely creepy dream. However, I would like to think that my experience something more than an adventure into the abyss of psychological insanity, but an intervention from forces above our level of consciousness. At the time, I wasn’t a religious person. I grew up in the quiet town...
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...The Evolution of Videogame Technology and its Impact on Gamers Shubhangi Vhatkar IB Extended Essay 3,902 words Abstract: This essay examines how the development of technology has changed the videogame experience, and how it will continue to change in the future as new technologies appear. Research investigated recorded histories of videogames, personal accounts of videogame experiences, the gaming industry’s impact on society, and specifications for particularly technologies. Predictions for future gaming experiences were based on the increasing rate of technological developments and current prospects of videogame tycoons such as Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. Personal knowledge and speculation were included as well. This study demonstrated that as videogame technology grew more sophisticated, gamers found themselves in more personal, immersive, emotionally titillating, morally challenging, and free-ended worlds. The increase in processing power and available memory led to photorealistic visuals, longer storylines, broader gameplay, and socially interactive games that have become second nature to most teenagers today. This second life will only become more influential in our physical and mental states as the scope of modern gaming increases, and new technologies provide for a longer, more poignant, and more immersive gaming experience. Technology, the “practical application of knowledge,” dates back millennia. Even pre-historic man used rock, wood, fur, and fire to...
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...111-001 Movie Review 03 October 2013 After Earth “Then it dawned on me, Fear is not real. The only place fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future, it is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist, that is near insanity. Now do not misunderstand me, Danger is very real, but fear is a choice. We are all telling ourselves a story, and that day, mine changed.” That is a quote from Cypher (Will Smith) talking to his son Kitai (Jaden Smith) after their crash landing on the planet where the ship broke in two, leaving the only working beacon in the tail of the ship some 100 kilometers away from them, on earth 1000 years after they have left it. "After Earth" is a lovely surprise. This film from producer-costar Will Smith and director M. Night Shyamalan, about a father and son marooned on a hostile future earth, is a moral tale disguised as a sci-fi blockbuster. It's no classic, but it's a special movie: spectacular and wise. Says Matt Zoller Sietz from RogerEbert.com If you’re looking for an action adventure, or a pure Sci-Fi you might be disappointed as the storyline isn’t after that. If you notice little backdrop details about the scenes of the movie and love an interesting storyline, that’s where this movie comes through very strong. It isn’t just about a father and son being shipwrecked on a planet, or even about them bonding together even though it does cover that pretty well. As far as movies go, it seemed...
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...Kung Fu movies are part of a subgenre of martial arts films. They are set in the modern period of futuristic martial arts. Kung Fu has its origins in China, which before being modernized, was popularly known as Wuxia (Greene, 2014). This film genre is an important creation of Hong Kong Cinema. The main difference between Kung Fu and Woxia is that the former has less sword play, instead, used more armed combat. It however found its way to the West, where it was embraced in Hollywood as one of them most loved action film genres. The genre was first played on screen in the 1930s in a film known as The Adventures of Fong Sai-Yuk (Kato, 2012). The first directors choreographed the fights to become more realistic on screen. The genre reached its heights in the 1970s and overtook some of the most famous genres of the time. Today, Kung Fu has reached international audiences across the world. The genre is mainly produced Hong Kong, main land china japan and India. This paper looks at the genre as produced in these countries, contrasts and compares them. Characteristics of kung Fu movies in Hong Kong, main land china japan and India The Hong Kong Kung Fu films combine action, mainly as codified by Hollywood, and Chinese storytelling. This is interwoven with aesthetic traditions, which combine to create a distinctive form that has a wide transcultural appeal. However, over the last few years, the Hong Kong Kung Fu movies have been greatly influenced by American and European action styles...
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...painting, the French New Wave (or Le Nouvelle Vague) made its first splashes as a movement shot through with youthful exuberance and a brisk reinvigoration of the filmmaking process. Most agree that the French New Wave was at its peak between 1958 and 1964, but it continued to ripple on afterwards, with many of the tendencies and styles introduced by the movement still in practice today… French New Wave The New Wave (French: La Nouvelle Vague) was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema. Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of classical cinematic form and their spirit of youthful iconoclasm. "New Wave" is an example of European art cinema. Many also engaged in their work with the social and political upheavals of the era, making their radical experiments with editing, visual style and narrative part of a general break with the conservative paradigm. Using portable equipment and requiring little or no set up time, the New Wave way of filmmaking presented a documentary type style. The films exhibited direct sounds on film stock that required less light. Filming techniques included fragmented, discontinuous editing, and long takes. The combination of objective realism, subjective realism, and authorial commentary created a narrative ambiguity in the sense that questions that arise...
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...Commodification…………………………………………..55 Conclusion…………………………………………………………...73 Bibliography…………………………………………………………78 Introduction Among the various aspects which define contemporary life, popular culture – and in particular, American popular culture – is undoubtedly one of the most ubiquitous and long-lasting. Throughout the twentieth century, people around the world have enjoyed film, music, animation, and written works by various authors and artists. One of the most famous and significant American entertainers of the lot has been Walt Disney, introducing millions of children and adults to his world of limitless (or so is widely believed) imagination and magic, from the earliest short cartoons produced in the 1920s, to full-length feature animations such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to the numerous animations and live-actions films as well as Disneyland theme parks, all kept alive by the thriving Disney Company decades after the death of its founder. Disney’s legacy lives on in a variety of entertainment and consumer-oriented products, enthralling audiences the world over. Nevertheless, one type of art often precedes another, and among the most well known, classic...
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...public in 1887, nothing could have prepared him for the fact he had created a character who was destined to become the most famous detective in the world. This British literary idol went on to break all records and has become the most frequently portrayed fictional character of all time. Today, the brand has been invented and re-invented in so many different and exotic ways that it has the potential to keep entertaining, amusing, enlightening and keeping readers, viewers and listeners of all ages engaged for a long time to come, deviating from and strengthening the original fandom, and keeping a century-old brand as alive and as unique as it was when with the publishing of The Final Solution, Conan Doyle killed off the famous detective and had to face eight years of intense public pressure, who took to the streets wearing black arm-bands and demanding that he bring Holmes back. Few fictional characters have risen to the prominence and longevity as the Baker Street sleuth. Like any well-crafted piece of work, Sherlock Holmes has been an inspiration in his field – informing identities of later fictional characters, from Batman to Dr. Gregory House. Sherlock Holmes, according to The New York Times, is the 3rd most read publication on the planet behind the Bible and the Dictionary. There are 357 Holmes Societies around the world and thousands of dedicated Websites. Stories featuring Sherlock Holmes have been translated into 84 languages so far. As part of my study of this...
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...Orson Welles: The Man, the Myth… the Communist? “One of the most promising artists of our day,” “ One of the most accomplished dramatic artists of the twentieth century, “ and “A major creative force and ultimate auteur,” were all praises and titles from major media moguls, publications, and critics given to Orson Welles. Not too shabby for someone who hasn’t even turned thirty yet, eh? Right out of the gate Welles proved to be an innovative and artistic force that could hold its own, and even surpass, the heavy hitters of his day. His career seemed to be on a steady incline for almost a decade; however, did his talent and work hit a plateau? Welles was always seen as an active political figure that was not afraid to voice or project his own viewpoints in the public, but did this have a negative or lasting affect on his later career? Critics argue the best work Welles produced was before he hit thirty years old, so was this a direct result from the negative attention he attracted from media magnates, specifically William Randolph Hearst, Hollywood elite, and most importantly the United States government? Also, Welles left the country at a time when the dreaded “blacklist” was starting to funnel through Hollywood (“Orson” 17). Whether this was coincidence or intentional is debatable, but either way the ramifications may have helped account for the different direction he took with his post-Hollywood career. Did Orson’s fame draw too much attention and lead to his downfall? ...
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...Media, Medicine and American Expectations What constitutes the media? Changed over time? What constitutes medicine? Health or health culture as alternate name to describe what course encompasses? Bert Hanson – medical breakthrough = social phenomenon * How has promise of medical breakthroughs influenced: media culture and patients expectations relationship between medicine and media place of medicine in American political culture How and why does the medical community use media to communicate with public? Increasingly interdependent spheres w/ differing perspectives on vision of media’s role is in “media-ted” world What makes health “news”? Producing Medical Heroes How and why has American society selected its medical heroes? How has this changed over time? What functions do depictions of heroic doctors (Walter Reed, and House, M.D.) and patients serve? How have fictional medical characters – in novels, Hollywood films, on TV – shaped expectations of medical culture? VD, HIV, and the Media How did the media contribute to the publics perception of venereal diseases and HIV? What images (both visual, and stories told to make a point) came most powerfully to cultural prominence? What were the aims of medical and public health authorities, the state, and media professionals in working to make those images publically visible? What role did the media play in changing public’s image of HIV? Stigmatization, Destigmatization, and Medical...
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...Anime (Japanese: アニメ?, [anime] ( listen); English i/ˈænɨmeɪ/) are Japanese animated productions usually featuring hand-drawn or computer animation. The word is the abbreviated pronunciation of "animation" in Japanese, where this term references all animation;[1] the term may ultimately derive from the French dessin animé, referring to an animated picture.[2] In other languages, the term is defined as animation from Japan or as a Japanese-disseminated animation style. Arguably, the stylization approach to the meaning may open up the possibility of anime produced in countries other than Japan.[3][4][5] For simplicity, many Westerners strictly view anime as an animation product from Japan.[6] The earliest commercial Japanese animation dates to 1917, and production of anime works in Japan has since continued to increase steadily. The characteristic anime art style emerged in the 1960s with the works of Osamu Tezuka and spread internationally in the late twentieth century, developing a large domestic and international audience. Anime is distributed theatrically, by television broadcasts, directly to home media, and over the internet and is classified into numerous genres targeting diverse broad and niche audiences. Anime is a diverse art form with distinctive production methods and techniques that have been adapted over time in response to emergent technologies. The production of anime focuses less on the animation of movement and more on the realism of settings as well as the use...
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...the movie, tried to suppress it), it was critically praised for its acting, story, and directing. Citizen Kane’s dramatic camera angles, striking film noir–style lighting, nonlinear storytelling, montages, and long deep-focus shots were considered technically innovative for the era. Over time, Citizen Kane became revered as a masterpiece, and in 1997 the American Film Institute named it the Greatest American Movie of All Time. “Citizen Kane is more than a great movie; it is a gathering of all the lessons of the emerging era of sound,” film critic Roger Ebert wrote.1 CHAPTER 6 ○ MOVIES 185 (c) Bedford/St. Martin's bedfordstmartins.com 1-457-62096-0 / 978-1-457-62096-6 MOVIES A generation later, the space epic Star Wars (1977) changed the culture of the movie industry. Star Wars, produced, written, and directed by George Lucas, departed from the personal filmmaking of the early 1970s and spawned a blockbuster mentality that formed a new primary audience for Hollywood— teenagers. It had all of the now–typical blockbuster characteristics like massive promotion and lucrative merchandising...
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...34%) | Number of admissions (2014)[1][2] | Total | 208.9768 million | National films | 91.26 million (44.4%) | Gross box office (2014)[1][2] | Total | €1.33 billion | National films | €563.01 million (43.1%) | Cinema of France refers to the film industry based in France. The French cinema comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad. France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its significant contributions to the art form and the film-making process itself.[3] Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle Vague, began in the country. It is noted for having a particularly strong film industry, due in part to protections afforded by the French government.[3] Apart from its strong and innovative film tradition, France has also been a gathering spot for artists from across Europe and the world. For this reason, French cinema is sometimes intertwined with the cinema of foreign nations. Directors from nations such as Poland (Roman Polanski, Krzysztof Kieślowski, and Andrzej Żuławski), Argentina(Gaspar Noé and Edgardo Cozarinsky), Russia (Alexandre Alexeieff, Anatole Litvak), Austria (Michael Haneke), and Georgia (Géla Babluani, Otar Iosseliani) are prominent in the ranks of French cinema. Conversely, French directors have had prolific and influential careers in other countries, such as Luc Besson, Jacques Tourneur, or Francis Veber in the United States. Another element...
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...Analysis of Alfie Table of Contents Introduction: Michael Caine - the phenomenon of stardom 1. 2. 3. 4. Great Britain in the Swinging Sixties British Cinema in the 60s Production background to Alfie Socio-gender situation of the Characters 2 3 5 6 7 7 9 11 13 14 4.1. Gilda 4.2. Lily 4.3. Ruby Conclusion: Alfie as an indicator for the cultural history of the 60s Secondary Sources: Filmography, Bibliography and Electronic Sources 2 Introduction „What’s it all about?“ is not only the famous last question of the protagonist in Alfie but also the title of Michael Caine’s autobiography. Born 1933 in London’s poor East End as Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, he started acting in the late 1940s and soon became Michael Caine. Though he changed his name he never tried to hide his past and his Cockney accent gives away his working class origin. It was a hard and long journey to fame for Caine. His first steps into show business were acting with amateur groups, then playing some parts in provincial theatres and later some appearances on British television. It was only after more than 20 years that he got the audiences’ and critics’ attention for his role in Zulu. But it brought him rather critical notice than the hoped for éclat. In 1967 Caine’s career got a considerable boost when he was representing the main character in Alfie - a role that seemed to be made especially for him. Although almost every actor in question shunned this role, Caine was to win his first Oscar nomination...
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...The greatest of the silent clowns is Buster Keaton, not only because of what he did, but because of how he did it. Harold Lloyd made us laugh as much, Charlie Chaplin moved us more deeply, but no one had more courage than Buster. I define courage as Hemingway did: "Grace under pressure." In films that combined comedy with extraordinary physical risks, Buster Keaton played a brave spirit who took the universe on its own terms, and gave no quarter. I'm immersed in his career right now, viewing all of the silent features and many of the shorts with students at the University of Chicago. Having already written about Keaton's "The General" (1927) in this series, I thought to choose another title. "The Navigator," perhaps, or "Steamboat Bill, Jr.," or "Our Hospitality." But they are all of a piece; in an extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929, he worked without interruption on a series of films that make him, arguably, the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies. Most of these movies were long thought to be lost. "The General," with Buster as a train engineer in the Civil War, was always available, hailed as one of the supreme masterpieces of silent filmmaking. But other features and shorts existed in shabby, incomplete prints, if at all, and it was only in the 1960s that film historians began to assemble and restore Keaton's lifework. Now almost everything has been recovered, restored, and is available on DVDs and tapes that range from watchable to sparkling. It's said...
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...THE CINEMATIC REVOLUTION: AN ANALYSIS ON THE BOX OFFICE HIT FILM “HENERAL LUNA” AS PERCEIVED BY SELECTED: FILM EXPERTS, MARKETING EXPERTS, HISTORIANS AND MASS COMMUNICATION STUDENTS A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Letters Bulacan State University In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication Major in Broadcasting by Adolfo, Jasmine Faye M. Añonuevo, Sabbyna R. Cara, Angelica P. Paguiligan, Noemi D. BAMC 4B Mr. Regemrei P. Bernardo MARCH 2016 Chapter I The Problem and Its Setting INTRODUCTION A film is a characterization of diverse emotions and motions of a society (Santillan, 1998, 155, as cited in Campomanes, 2015). As disciplines and fields of knowledge, History and Film differ from their own characteristics and potencies however as in the teaching of history, there are times when their relationship is evident. According to CCP (1994) historical films are “films based on biographies and events in the distant past.” Following this definition, it has been said that there are two kinds of historical films, one that uses history only as a context and the latter that attempts to directly represent a historical period, place or personality. (Navarro 2008, 134 as cited in Campomanes, 2015) The amount of information we gain from a book can hardly be equaled to the ones we gain in a film for the reason that a film is limited with its running time. Although with...
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